The Election Commission of India on Saturday announced the dates of the 2022 Assembly Elections in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, which is considered a major test for the political parties, especially for the next Lok Sabha elections.
The polls to elect 403 members of the Legislative Assembly will begin on February 10 and will be held in seven phases, till March 7. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.
The term of the current government is set to expire in May.
In the 2017 UP assembly elections, the BJP won 312 out of a total of 403 seats. The halfway mark is 202. The government was formed under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath.
The key parties vying for power in the state are BJP, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Congress. Also in the fray are RLD, AIMIM, Apna Dal and SBSP, some of whom have formed alliances.
Here are the Phase-wise poll dates for the 403 seats:
| Phase-1 | Phase-2 | Phase-3 | Phase-4 | Phase-5 | Phase-6 | Phase-7 | |
| Issue of notification | 14.01.2022 | 21.01.2022 | 25.01.2022 | 27.01.2022 | 01.02.2022 | 04.02.2022 | 10.02.2022 |
| Last date of nominations | 21.01.2022 | 28.01.2022 | 01.02.2022 | 03.02.2022 | 08.02.2022 | 11.02.2022 | 17.02.2022 |
| Scrutiny of nominations | 24.01.2022 | 29.01.2022 | 02.02.2022 | 04.02.2022 | 09.02.2022 | 14.02.2022 | 18.02.2022 |
| Last date for withdrawal of candidature | 27.01.2022 | 31.01.2022 | 04.02.2022 | 07.02.2022 | 11.02.2022 | 16.02.2022 | 21.02.2022 |
| Date of polling | 10.02.2022 | 14.02.2022 | 20.02.2022 | 23.02.2022 | 27.02.2022 | 03.03.2022 | 07.03.2022 |
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